Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that Gunners captain Martin Odegaard will be out for “a few weeks” with a knee injury.
It was a perfect week for Arsenal, who beat Newcastle and West Ham in the Premier League and Olympiakos in the Champions League.
Thanks to their performance in the Premier League, the Reds have overtaken Liverpool and moved into the lead after a nightmare week in which they lost all three games in all competitions.
Arsenal were dealt a blow with the news that Odegaard has suffered a medial collateral ligament injury, but Arteta has confirmed the likely date.
“It’s going to take a few weeks. We don’t have a firm date for his return, but he’s progressing well. It’s very unfortunate. What’s going on with him and injuries this season. But yeah, I think he’ll be back in the next few weeks,” Arteta said in a press conference on Friday.
“We have to see how he progresses, how the knee is healing and how he copes with the next stages of rehabilitation. So it’s too early to give an answer.”
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Victor Gokeres has had a mixed start to his time at Arsenal, scoring just three goals in his first seven Premier League games, but Arteta says he is “very happy” with the Sweden international.
Arteta added: “He brings a lot to the team. Looking back at the game, I’m very happy with what he brought to the team.”
“In our first meeting I said to him, ‘The number 9 I want is a number who can handle it if he doesn’t score for six or eight games. If not, he’s got to go somewhere else.’
“There’s going to be pressure, there’s going to be expectations. If you wear the number nine shirt at Arsenal, you have to be able to say, ‘Am I a different player because I haven’t scored in six games? Am I acting in a different way?’
“I want more of the same thing he’s doing. If there’s a chance to put it (into the net), I’m confident it will happen.”
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Asked about Declan Rice’s insistence that his role has changed this season, Arteta said: “I think he has adapted to the qualities that we have. We have a certain chemistry and a certain relationship that you notice. With eight new players in the squad, different things emerge. We are trying to maximize his qualities and his relationships with other players to give the team the best possible ability.”
Speaking about the positives he has taken from his team this season, Arteta continued: “There were a lot of things. We had two very different blocks. In the second block, we had some problems so we had to increase our availability in the team. That was one of the main things we had to do.”
“Anyone could have an impact on the game, whether it was playing or finishing or not being on the team. I think we did that really, really well. And we evolved some of the things that we wanted.”
“Being more unpredictable, threatening the opponent more, being very consistent in all defensive aspects of the game as well. And we’ve reached a different level. And in the next block, can we keep many of those and increase others? That’s the goal.”
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